Shadow Over Lysium
by waitwhathuh
Summary: A potentially romantic road trip turns sour after Cat and Tori's car breaks down and they end up stranded in some small town. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't such an ominous vibe hanging over the town and its residents... Post Dead to You/Life After Death. Cori.
1. Stranded

**Author's Note: Oh, hey. So, this is just going to be a very short story. It takes place after Dead To You/Life After Death, if you happened to have read those stories. So it's the same Cat & Tori from those stories. Sort of like a companion piece! I thought it'd be fun. Originally it was supposed to just be a really cute road trip story, but it didn't turn out that way at all... whoops! So it's a little different, a little over-the-top in some instances. But hey, I hope you enjoy it anyway! Different is good sometimes.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious which I'm _slowly_ coming to terms with. (Shh, I'm leading them into a false sense of security so that they won't expect it when I steal the rights and create a Victorious movie)**

* * *

I sputter out a cough as the hot, inky smoke fills my lungs and mouth. My eyes water and I nearly double over from the unmistakable pungent scent of something burning. I stumble back and lift up my shirt collar over my face, and thankfully the fact that the material is already damp from my sweat helps. I let out a couple more coughs, cringing at the stack of black smoke in front of me.

"That's… that's more smoke than I was expecting." Cat appears at my side, rubbing my back gently. I let my shirt fall down and wipe my mouth with my arm. Great. Just great. Our car breaking down in the middle of the Arizona desert while we were lost in the first place is exactly what we needed.

"Yeah. But I think I swallowed half of it when I opened the hood, so it could be way worse." I choke. Ugh, my lungs feel gross now.

"You okay?" Cat asks, concerned. I nod slightly, but I don't think my pissed off scowl really convinces her. "Did you see any fire when you looked in? Because if the car is on fire we probably shouldn't be anywhere near it…"

"I didn't see fire, but I think the smoke is clearing anyway." I observe, finally being able to see the engine through the gross fog.

"It's probably okay as long as we don't start it, then." Cat concludes. I throw my hands up in the air.

"Oh perfect! So we're stuck here." I grumble.

"Tori, relax. I'll call a tow truck." Cat assures me. How can she be so calm?

"Hope you can even get a signal out here." I glower, crossing my arms and kicking a nearby rock. "And if not, we can always ask all these cars driving by!" I exclaim sarcastically, gesturing at the clearly very empty road. We hadn't seen another car for miles.

"Tor, just…" Cat sighs, putting her hand on my shoulder. She knows she can usually comfort me just with a touch. I close my eyes and try to let her presence wash over me, but I think the heat from the sun and my frustration from our current situation is a little too overpowering at the moment. "Shit."

"What?" I ask.

"You were right. No signal." Cat frowns, looking at her phone. I groan dramatically, as if throwing a hissy fit in the middle of nowhere will make a difference.

"That's nice. I guess I'll just sit down over on that rock and wait to die. Maybe I'll make a nice meal for a turkey vulture. I'll join the circle of life." I muse. Cat shoots me a glare and I know my pessimism is starting to grate on her nerves.

"I'll go walk around and try to see if I can get a bar or two." She offers, tapping around on her phone.

"And what am I supposed to do?" I mutter. Cat gives me a shrug.

"Maybe find some marshmallows and make some s'mores over our burning car." She suggests, walking away while holding her phone up.

"Hilarious." I throw back at her. I shake my head and walk around the car, leaning against the taillights. I start to feel guilty about my behaviour. I've been feeling irritable all day, but I blame it on the fact that I drove all night. Cat took over in the morning and I got about an hour of shut-eye before a bump in the road woke me up and I saw we were horribly lost. Our car breaking down is just the icing on the cake and as bad as I feel about snapping at Cat, it kind of is her fault for getting us lost.

And damnit, I'm more overheated than our car. I open up the backseat door and grab a water bottle. It's warm, but at least it's water. It doesn't help too much, though. Just more liquid to sweat out.

I look over to make sure Cat isn't being chased by a mountain lion or something. She's standing on the rock I said I was going to go die on, trying to get a signal. I have to hand it to her, she won't let much get her down. I want to die on a rock, she's trying to save us on the rock. I guess this is why I keep her around.

I slump down on the ground and try to huddle in the minimal shade the car provides. About ten minutes later, I hear the crunch of Cat's footsteps against the gravel approaching me.

"Oh ye of little faith." She grins, waving her phone.

"You called a tow truck?" I ask, and she nods.

"They're sending one to, uh, wherever we are." She looks around with a furrowed brow. I stand up, looking at her exasperatedly.

"You didn't give them our location?" I huff, and she shifts slightly.

"Well I don't really know where we are. I told them the highway we were _supposed_ to be on, and the exit we accidentally took… they'll figure it out." She assures me.

"Jesus Christ, Cat." I ruffle my hands through my dry yet frizzy hair. "This wouldn't even be an issue if your navigational skills were a little better."

"Road trips are supposed to be an adventure! What's wrong with getting a little lost from time to time?" Cat reasons, and I gesture incredulously around me.

"Uh, **this**. **This** is what's wrong with getting lost."

"I didn't know the car was going to break down, Tori. You can't blame that on me." Cat glares, and I feel what's left of my patience ebbing.

"Well you _were_ the one driving it." I grumble, and her mouth pops open, taking offense.

"Fine. You want to play the blaming game? The only reason we're on this road trip is because you hate flying!" Cat shouts, her patience with me also clearly dissolved along with any water in this heat.

"Excuse me, I was almost in a _plane accident._ Or did you forget?" I scoff, and Cat looks away, crossing her arms.

"I'd never forget that." She mumbles. For a moment, I feel guilty bringing it up as the image of her devastated face when she once thought I was dead crosses my mind. She really loves me. But I'm just on a rampage. I probably have heat stroke.

"Good. Because I thought this would be a nice alternative. Usually we have to rush to LA but this time, we had some warning and I thought, hey. Let's have a road trip. Spend some time together. Obviously that was a bad decision." I growl.

"It'd be more enjoyable if you weren't such a sourpuss." Cat retorts, and I feel my blood boil.

"We are _stranded_ in the **desert**! And help may or may not be coming! The road trip was pretty fun until you screwed everything up!" I exclaim.

"Oh my god. Fine. I'm sorry I took a wrong turn. Holy fuck, Tori." Cat huffs, walking around to the other side of the car. She leans against the side and I watch her bow her head as she hugs herself, and my anger dissipates. I know I'm being irrational, and I'm not being fair to Cat at all. Damnit.

"Cat, I-" I start walking around to the side she's leaning against. I notice she's twisting her promise ring around her finger. She's probably trying to figure out if I'm worth it. "You're right. I'm being a sourpuss."

"At least you admit it." Cat mumbles. I approach her slowly, but she doesn't look up at me.

"I'm sorry I've been short with you. I just… I'm tired, and sweaty, and worried, and – and that's still no excuse to treat you like shit. I'm sorry." I sigh, chancing putting my hand on her shoulder. Thankfully, she doesn't pull away. "Look, when the tow truck comes, I'll totally understand if you want to leave me here for the turkey vultures."

She looks up at me now, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "But then the vultures might take a while and you'd harp on their lack of navigational skills. How could I do that to those innocent birds?"

I let out a sigh, smiling in spite of myself. "Are you done?"

"Nah, I think I'm owed at least two or three more jabs at you." Cat grins, turning to me. I roll my eyes, but thankfully my irritability is kept at bay.

"Okay, okay. Whatever you want, sunshine." I chuckle. Cat puts her hands on my hips and pushes up closer to me.

"I am sorry, though. For getting us lost and stranded." Cat mutters, looking guilty. I push back her sweaty bangs and marvel at the fact that she can be so dusty and grimy yet still so beautiful.

"Hey, like you said, it's an adventure." I murmur. "Although next time, maybe we should choose some more romantic stops along the way. The World's Largest Beagle was cute and all, but an observatory or something would've been nice too."

"Aww, but Benji would've loved the giant beagle." Cat jokes.

"Well unfortunately he's still a little skittish for road trips so he has to stay with his uncle and auntie, my music producers." I smirk. Cat wraps her arms around my neck.

"So this trip hasn't been romantic enough for you?" She purrs.

"I-I mean I love spending time with you in any form but, you know…" I mumble, noticing how pressed up against each other we are. The thing about driving all day and night is that it doesn't leave much time for sex.

"Well we're out here in the middle of nowhere, anyway…" Cat coos, and I shudder when she starts nipping at my earlobe. "We can make the best out of a bad situation… get that romance you've been craving…"

"Cat… I, uh… don't get me wrong, but it's already really hot out here." I croak as she squeezes my sides.

"I can make it hotter, if you'd like." She husks. I close my eyes and swallow hard, almost giving in.

"But the tow truck could show up any time." I try to rationalize.

"Then lucky them for getting a little show." Cat chuckles, capturing my lips in hers. Okay. Okay, she's worth the dehydration I'll probably get from doing this.

I pop open the back seat door and lay her down, kissing her neck. I should probably be surprised that we seamlessly went from fighting to dry humping in the back seat of the car, but I'm really not. That's just us. It's part of what I love about us.

Unfortunately, we both hear the sound of a car horn before I even get her shirt off. We both pop up, fixing ourselves and scrambling out of the back seat. We see the truck pull up and the guy gets out, a sheepish look on his face.

"Did someone call a tow truck?" He barks out.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that was us." I confirm. "Wow you got out here fast."

"We get calls out here all the time. It actually has the nickname 'breakdown valley'. That's how common it is, and it's always the first place we check when someone is lost." He looks us up and down. "But I can come back a little later, if you'd like…"

"Uh, no, that's okay. Thank you." Cat rushes out, looking flushed. I take a moment to catch my breath. I guess having sex in the middle of a desert wasn't a great idea, anyway.

The tow truck guy chuckles, taking out a clipboard. "So where am I taking your vehicle?" He asks.

"Closest mechanic, please." I request. He looks up slowly from the clipboard, raising his eyebrow.

"You sure about that, ma'am?" He questions.

"Uh, yeah." I reply incredulously. I'm not going to pay the massive fees to have him take us all the way to a mechanic in LA. Still, he shakes his head like we just made a really foolish decision.

"Alright, then. Whatever you say."

* * *

"Here ya go. Nearest mechanic." The tow truck guys announces, pulling into a lot by a large, grey building. Other broken cars seem to be scattered around, waiting to be serviced. Cat and I get out of the truck.

"Okay, thank you." I say to him as he starts to unhook the car from his rig. I notice Cat standing at the edge of the road, looking around.

"Where are we?" She asks, and I try to get my bearings as well. Wherever we are, the town seems pretty decrepit. Not the kind of decrepit that you'd see somewhere like on skid row, but it just seems almost lifeless. I swear nothing here has been maintained since the 50s. Just cracked brick buildings with some aluminum thrown in, and faded advertisements on the walls.

"This place? The town of Lysium." The driver relays. "Okay, you're all unhooked."

"Great." I sigh, taking out my credit card to pay him. As I'm punching in the code, he leans close.

"Word to the wise. I wouldn't stick around too long." He whispers. I look up at him, cocking my eyebrow.

"Why?" I question. I mean, it's not like I want to stay and buy a summer house here, but he sounds a bit ominous.

"It might be nothing, but there's just something a little… off about this town. Folks from surrounding towns don't take too kindly to this place." He mutters. The machine dings and he stands up straight, a big smile suddenly on his face. "Thank you, ladies. I hope you have a nice day."

He tips his trucker hat and gets back into his truck, starting it up. I feel Cat's hand rest at the small of my back.

"What'd he say to you? Was he hitting on you?" She accuses, letting her territorial side show.

"No, nothing like that." I sigh. "Just, you know, typical mysterious warning about our location. We may or may not have stumbled into a horror movie." I joke, although I feel some chills up my spin from the truck-guy's words. Cat looks concerned.

"Oh, no… I just got you into a good mood again. I don't want a town of axe murderers to ruin it." She whines. I shake my head, kissing her temple.

"C'mon, let's get everything fixed so we can leave creepytown far behind." I suggest, and she nods.

A bell chimes our arrival into the shop. A typically greasy-looking man stands behind a desk. He looks up from a paper, dark circles under his eyes.

"You lookin' for a fixer-upper?" He asks.

"Uh, yeah. Our car broke down. Lots of black smoke." I explain. He grunts, getting out from behind the counter. Cat steps closer to me. Maybe I shouldn't have told her that the tow-truck guy warned us. She's seemed uneasy since we got here.

"What do you two do?" He inquires suddenly. I tense a little, looking at his scrutinizing gaze.

"Do?" I question. Does he mean do we do each other? Can he tell just by looking at us? Is he homophobic? Oh god.

"Um, we sing. We both sing." Cat answers for me, and I blow out a breath. Oh, _that_ do. You'd think I'd be more comfortable with people finding out we're a couple by now anyway, but nope. Not there yet.

Again he grunts. "What you drive?"

"Ford Fusion. The navy blue one." I answer. Once again, he grunts.

"I'll take a look. Keys." He requests dully.

"Right. Um, careful turning it on." I say, handing him my keys. This time instead of grunting, he gives me a blank stare before heading out the door.

"Wait here." He mutters gruffly, and the bell tingles signifying his exit. Both Cat and I release a breath.

"He seems friendly." I note.

"Yeah. Why'd he ask us what we do?" Cat questions.

"Small talk?"

"I guess…" She mutters, sitting down on a very worn-out couch by the wall. Dust puffs up around her.

"Is everything alright? You seem nervous." I murmur, sitting beside her and rubbing her arm.

"I just – This place gives me the heebie-jeebies." Cat shudders. "When I was travelling Canada with Moose and trying to find a place to settle down, we ended up in a lot of small rural towns like this. We thought it'd be a good place to hide." She fiddles with the hem of her shorts. "There was always usually some sort of skeleton in their closet, though. Drug rings, gangs, corruption, human trafficking…" She looks up at me. "Why do you think I ended up choosing Toronto? I'm just not a small town girl."

"You know, all those things are probably in the city, too." I comment.

"Yeah but the city is large enough that those things are shuffled into the darkest corners. In small towns it's more compact. It's more consuming." She shakes her head. "I'm being silly."

"No, it's okay. I'm definitely more of a city girl myself, too." I smile, combing my fingers through her hair. "Don't worry. The car will get fixed and we'll be out of here in no time."

"I hope so." She sighs. I'm suddenly hit with a big yawn and she gives me an affectionate smile. "Oh, Tor, you're still running off zero sleep. Rest your eyes for a bit."

She pulls me to her chest and I give a contented sigh. "Thanks, love." I mumble. I feel her kiss the top of my head and I still can't believe I was so mad at her earlier. I need to buy her flowers at the earliest opportunity.

 _Just_ as I'm about to fall asleep, I jump up suddenly at the sound of the tinkling bell. I still don't feel comfortable having people find out our relationship status in a small town where we can't escape in case we find out everyone is radically conservative.

"You need a brand new part." He grunts, wiping his blackened hands on a rag.

"Seriously?" I sigh. "Okay, I'll pay whatever. How long will it take to fix?"

"A day or two." He answers, and I feel Cat tense up.

"What?!" She gapes.

"I need to order the part and it'll take that long to get here." He mutters, going behind the desk again. He starts writing something down on a piece of paper.

"Well, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" I question. He lifts up the paper, holding it out to me.

"Take this to the motel. Fred there'll give you a discount on a room." He states. "It'll also give you a discount at Lisa's, if you were feeling hungry. That's the local diner."

"Oh, perfect. That's actually really helpful." I say gratefully, taking the paper. I turn to Cat. "See? No problems here."

She lets out a long breath. "Yeah. Okay." She nods.

"You should know, this town ain't that fond of outsiders. Just try to keep to yourselves." He grumbles before disappearing into the back room. I watch Cat's face go pale.

"Caaat…" I gauge her carefully.

"No, it's fine. I'm fine. Let's check into that motel and grab something to eat. I'm starving." She gives me a bright smile. I nod, cupping her cheek.

"Okay, my love."

* * *

We checked into the motel – a really dingy motel that reminded me of my old apartment. But, it was a place to sleep until the car was fixed and that's what matters. What matters now is making the rumbling in my stomach subside, so we decided to check out Lisa's as was suggested by creepy-mechanic guy. Cat seemed pretty hesitant to go out, though.

She seems in better spirits now, however. Maybe she just needed some food in her.

"I _do_ love places that serve all-day breakfast." She mumbles, practically shovelling scrambled eggs into her mouth. "I've suggested it at my diner, apparently it's not cost effective."

"That's a shame. I guess that's something this diner has over yours." I comment, looking around. It's a typical small-town diner – tiny with maybe about eight booths while the rest of the seats are bar stools along the counter. Still, the food is _really_ good. Honestly, I think it tops a lot of food I've had at even the fanciest of places.

"I think this place could still use more character." Cat muses, her eyes scoping over the length of the place.

"Character as in singing wait-staff and performers?" I question with a smile. She gives me a grin in response.

"I might be a bit biased." She chuckles.

"Well go ahead, just belt something out. Maybe they'll hire you." I urge, and she grimaces.

"Ugh, no thanks. I don't plan to be here long enough to start needing an income."

"Of course not." I sigh, patting her hand. I don't want her to get all freaked out again. "But if you want to sing out a tune anyway, I won't complain."

She rolls her eyes, but her brilliant smile negates any annoyance she might've felt at me. "I'll sing if you do."

"Hmm…" I narrow my eyes at her, my mouth curling into a mischievous smirk. I take a breath and start to softly sing along with the song on the jukebox. " _Take my hand, take my whole life too…_ "

Cat gets a glint in her eye and immediately catches on, jumping in with the harmonies. " _For I can't help falling in love with you._ "

A loud slam from the other side of the diner interrupts our quiet duet. We quickly look over, me craning my neck a bit to see behind me, and spy four burly men glaring at us. The closest one has a vice-grip on his coffee mug in which coffee is still overflowing from, pointing to it being the source of the slam. Some of the steaming hot coffee got on his hand and he hasn't even flinched. Yeesh.

"I guess they don't like karaoke very much." I turn back to Cat. She looks pale again and she's sunken down into her side of the booth. Her eyes are locked into the direction of the four men. Her eyes dart toward me and then back to them.

"Do you have a signal on your phone yet?" She whispers. I sigh, realizing her paranoia is back. I check my phone and see I once again have zero bars of service, as has been the case every time I've checked since getting to this town.

"Not yet."

"Damnit." Cat curses through gritted teeth.

"Maybe you can run around the desert again and try to find a signal." I try to joke to lighten her mood again. I mean, she was more positive in that instance. Why not now?

"Honestly, I'm tempted." She mutters.

"Not getting a signal?"

Both Cat and I jump at the waitress appearing by our table, but I quickly collect myself.

"Uh, yeah. Haven't got one since we got here." I explain to her. "Is this town in some sort of dead zone?"

The waitress smiles, which is a welcome sight. She's been the first friendly face we've met in this town. Not to mention, she's absolutely gorgeous. I mean, Cat is still the most beautiful person to me to ever exist, but it bears mentioning. I'm confused as to why she's a waitress in this small town when any modelling agency in LA would probably take her. But I don't know her story. Maybe she loves small-town waitressing.

"Nah, nothing like that. We've had a really dry summer so far so dust storms nearby have been kind of common. Sometimes the cell towers will get knocked out for a bit but they'll be up again in no time." She explains, and then looks over at Cat who still seems to be recovering from being startled. "You okay, sweetie?"

Cat seems to swallow hard before answering. "What about wifi? Neither of our phones have picked up a wifi signal, either."

"There should be one here. The password is lisawifi, all lowercase and one word." The waitress explains. Cat quickly pulls out her phone and starts frantically tapping away as the waitress turns back to me. "You two planning on staying long or are you just passing through?"

"Just passing through, sort of. Our car broke down and we were told it'll take a day or two to get the new part and fix it."

I think I catch her smile tighten for a moment, but it passed quickly. "That's a shame. I hope you weren't in a hurry anywhere."

"We're not in a huge rush, but I have a show in LA next weekend." I state.

"That sounds like a fun time. I'm sure you'll get your car all fixed up in time." She assures me.

"The wifi isn't working." Cat announces suddenly while still looking at her phone. She looks up at me pleadingly. "Tori, can you please try?"

I let out another sigh but I oblige because I see how worried Cat is. Plus, it would be nice to have access to the outside world so we can let people we know what happened to us.

I punch in the password in and pull up the internet, only to get an error page. I furrow my brow which was enough for the waitress to look over my shoulder.

"Oh, shoot. Maybe our wifi is out. Sorry girls. Don't worry, though. Lysium has the best tech service so it'll be up and running tomorrow." She declares. Cat lets out a little groan in response. "By the way," The waitress continues, taking out a notepad and jotting something down. What is with these people and notes? "If you need any help while you're here, this is my address. You'll either find me there or here working."

She puts the paper down in front of me and I give her a genuine smile. "Thanks, that's really nice of you."

"I know people in this town can be… intimidating, but I want you to feel welcome while you're stuck here. The name is Kayla, by the way." She grins.

"I'm Tori." I reply before looking across at Cat. "My nervous friend is Cat."

Cat shoots me a puzzled look, but Kayla doesn't take notice. "Ah, I understand it must be uncomfortable being stranded in a strange town. I'll get you two a refill of water. Might calm your nerves a bit."

"We'd appreciate that, thanks." I agree. Kayla flashes a smile before her and her raven hair bobs off to the kitchen. Cat leans in close to me.

"Friend? We're practically engaged, you know." She pouts.

"I know that, but I don't want everyone in this town to know that. Just in case." I whisper. Cat nods in understanding, and I get a thought. "Oh, maybe that's what those guys' problems were. It _was_ a song about being in love, after all."

At my words, Cat glances past me and her eyes widen immediately. She looks back at me with an almost petrified expression.

"Tori, they're _still staring over here_." She hisses. I feel a bit of a chill creep down my spine. I'm afraid to check and confirm if she's right, but I believe her anyway.

"Okay… as soon as Kayla comes back, we're asking for the cheque and getting the hell out of here."

* * *

Thankfully Kayla came back quickly. Now we're just getting in at our motel, and Cat is locking the door behind us.

"Those guys were charming. Did you see how they looked at us as we left?" Cat huffs, exasperated.

"I was trying not to look at them, actually." I sigh. Cat sits down on the bed, still looking stressed.

"They looked at us like… I don't know. Prey. It made me uneasy." She mumbles. I regard her with concern. She's really shaken.

"Well, we _were_ told this place is a little xenophobic. I guess that's what the mechanic and tow truck guy meant. I'm sure they're harmless." I shrug, and then I saunter over to crawl up over her and straddle her lap. I lean down close to her face, giving the best sultry eyes I can muster. "Even if there was something sketchy going on, you know I'd never let anything happen to you, right?"

I give her the sweetest and gentlest kiss, which she melts into with the softest moan. "I know." She murmurs against my lips. I deepen it slightly and tangle my fingers in her hair, clutching at the back of her head and pulling her close. Her arms wrap around me and she bites at my lip just before I pull away. I smile noting the new contented look on her face.

"Feel better?" I whisper, brushing her bangs to the side.

"Mhm. Loads." She sighs, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Good." I pat her side and jump off her. "Now, I need to shower. I have in dust in like, every crevice of my person. My ears. My socks. My bra. Other places…" I mutter, heading into the bathroom. I check myself out in the mirror for a moment, and geez I look awful. The combination of dusty air and no sleep really does a number on my complexion.

I start to strip down and get my shirt and bra off when Cat appears behind me, putting her arms around my torso and kissing my shoulder.

"Can I join you?" She purrs.

"I was hoping you'd ask." I chuckle, turning around and letting her jump up on me. I hold her up by the legs and capture her lips in a heated kiss. Luckily there's a wall behind me or I would've just fell backwards. Damn she still literally knocks me off my feet.

Cat slides down from my grasp, making sure her hands glide over my chest, and then she lets me watch as she strips down. I bite my lip as if to hold it back from kissing every inch of the newly exposed skin. Yeah, she definitely still knocks me off my feet.

She steps out of the last of her fabric and gives me a smirk, brushing by me to head to the shower. She turns to beckon me with her finger before stepping inside. I've counted numerous times where I've practically ripped off my pants in anticipation for Cat, and I swear every time it's like a new record. I practically sprint after her and turn the water on, letting it wash over us as she presses against me.

If she needs a little bit of sex to help distract her from her apparent fear of small towns, I can do that. I can totally do that.

* * *

"Tori, wake up."

Erg, seriously? I haven't got a full-night's rest in like, two days. Let a girl sleep…

"Tori? Tori, c'mon. Wake up. Please. Tori!"

Mother… freakin'…

I roll over with a groan, only to shield my eyes when I see Cat shining her phone light on me. My eyes adjust and I'm able to see the terrified expression of my girlfriend's face. I sit up immediately, suddenly feeling wide awake.

"Cat? What's wrong? What is it?" I question. She reaches out, clutching at my shoulder with such intensity I almost wince from her nails digging into my skin.

Her eyes burrow into mine with overwhelming potency, and I'm barely able to look away to catch the tremble in her lip.

"Tori, we have to leave. Right now."

* * *

 **Author's Note: As if you guys didn't expect a cliffhanger *evil laugh*. Don't worry, I'm releasing all three chapters this week. Next will be on Wednesday, then Friday. Hopefully that makes up for it.**

 **Are you intrigued? Like I said, it'll be a little different. Gotta flex that creative muscle, you know? Yeah, you know.**

 **Fun Fact: The start of the chapter is based on a very real life event that happened to me when I was driving. The car just kind of erupted in smoke and everything was burning... My Twitter followers know. I live an exciting life. (Both the car and I are now fine)**


	2. Skedaddle

**Disclaimer: It's tricky to write a fic, to write a fic when you don't own it it's TRICKYYYYY! It's tricky tricky tricky tricky. (Why do I do these things)**

* * *

"Wh-what?" I stare dumbly at her and glance at the clock. 1AM. This better be good. She closes her eyes for a moment, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry love, I know you're tired, but I think we're in danger." She opens her eyes and looks at me with the same urgency. "We have to go."

I continue to stare at her, but I can tell by the look on her face that she isn't fucking around. I have no idea what's going on, but I trust Cat's judgement. So, I push my exhausted body out of bed and start quickly pulling clothes on.

"What happened?" I ask, and Cat already looks a bit more relieved that I complied so easily. Still, she seems tense.

"I don't know if I have much time to explain." She rushes out.

"Try." I request firmly. I want to at least make sure I'm not suddenly fleeing a motel because of a nightmare she had or paranoia.

"Okay," She breathes, "I couldn't really sleep because it's so hot in here, so I went out to get some ice, thinking it might be nice to have near to help cool me down." She starts ringing her hands nervously through the sheets of the bed. "The ice machine was close to the desk clerk's building, and around the corner I – I saw the guys from the diner! The ones staring at us!"

My eyes widen. Why would they be here? "Maybe they stay here, or something."

"I thought maybe that was it too, but I had to make sure. I went near the door and listened in." Cat shoots me a panicked look. "They asked the clerk what room the red head and brunette were staying in."

My eyes widen even more, if possible, and I feel my gut drop. "No fucking way."

Cat nods frantically. "I swear that's what I heard!"

I quickly cup her face, trying to keep her from freaking out. "No, sweetheart, I believe you. I do." I assure her. "But maybe it'll be okay. Isn't there some confidentiality clause? The clerk just can't give our room away."

Cat clutches at my arms again. "Honestly, I don't want to stick around long enough to find out. Can we just go? Plea-"

 _ **BANG BANG BANG**_

Both Cat and I have to cover our mouths to stifle a shriek from being startled by the _very aggressive_ knock at our door. Cat presses close to me.

"Oh my god. It's too late. They're here. What do we do?" Cat groans softly.

"Hey! Open up in there!" One of the men outside growls. I push Cat aside gently and take a step towards the door, but she hold me back by the arm.

"Tori, no. Don't – Don't answer that." She pleads.

"What else can we do?" I sigh, trying not to let my own fear shine through. I could take them if they tried something funny, right? …No, probably not.

"There has to be another way out." Cat whines, and we jump again at another loud knock at the door.

"Don't think we won't kick this door down!" A man snarls.

I could open the door and maybe try to reason or talk it out with them, but like I said, I trust Cat's judgement. Besides, my instinct is telling me to run like hell.

"There's a window. In the bathroom." I recall quickly, although god knows how I noticed the window earlier when I was so focused on Cat.

"Let's go!" Cat drags me into the bathroom. I prop the window open and squat down, ready to boost her up.

"That's it! We're coming in!" A muffled voice announces, followed by some very violent banging.

"Hurry!" I order Cat, who leaps on my hands and through the small window, squeezing though. I hear a thump on the other side. "Cat?" I try to check if she's okay, but there's no time. I hear the sound of wood cracking apart. Fuck!

I use all my adrenaline to pull myself through the window, and I land painfully on my side in the alleyway behind the motel. I struggle for a second when I feel arms wrap around me, but almost immediately relax when I recognize the familiarity.

"You okay?" Cat murmurs.

"Yeah." I gasp, "Just winded."

"They aren't in here! Where'd they go!?"

"Shit!"

The angry voices flood in from the open window above us, and it's only a matter of time before they realize what happened. We can't stay here.

"Come on." I mutter, giving Cat a determined look. She nods, clutching my hand and pulling me up.

We sprint down the alleyway just as we hear: "They must've gone through the window! Spread out and search! Don't let them escape!"

Damn, how did this even happen? Are we actually fleeing from a bunch of mean dudes right now in the middle of the night? My god.

I stop us just before reaching the street, and I peer around the corner. I don't see anyone, but that can change quickly. They'll check this alley first.

"Stay close and stay low." I whisper to Cat, and she squeezes my hand. We shuffle down the dark street with only a dim, flickering street light as a guide. That's fine, though. It gives us more cover.

We dart into another alley when we hear rapid footsteps coming down the street.

"Check every alleyway!"

Cat and I shoot each other a nervous glance and we rush behind a dumpster. It doesn't smell the greatest, but it kind of reminds me of the time I first found Cat in Toronto… Damnit, Tori! Now is not the time to get sentimental!

Cat's squeezing my hand even tighter as we hear the one of the men slowly approaching, and I have to cover my mouth to muffle the sound of my shaky breathing.

I think we both forget to breathe as he stops in front of the dumpster.

He pauses, and then the metal back pushes against us as he presumably leans against it to look in. Cat turns into my shoulder, and she's trembling like crazy. I want to somehow tell her it'll be okay, but I honestly have no idea if it will be.

Eventually we hear a grunt, and then he passes by. Neither of us feel safe to move or speak for at least a minute or two. That was way too close. Thank god he didn't check behind the dumpster… he must not be that smart.

"Okay… they're putting in way too much effort to find us." I mumble.

"I know. I got that feelings from them at the diner, you know? Like they're out for blood." Cat croaks.

"What can they possibly want from us? Is it because we're together, or is the town _really_ just that xenophobic?" I ponder.

"Maybe. It's like they're Innsmouth, or something." Cat adds, and I raise my eyebrow at her.

"Inns-what?" I question. Cat lets out a sigh.

"Innsmouth is a town from Lovecraftian lore where everyone in the town was in a cult and would drive everybody else out. They also like… interbred with fish monsters, or something." She explains.

"…What kind of books do they have you read in your university English courses?" I gape.

"I'm not saying these people are breeding with fish, but it might be something else messed up." Cat mutters.

"Okay so basically… let's get the fuck out of this town." I conclude.

"Agreed. Maybe we can get to the mechanic and there's a working car we can steal." Cat suggests. "Although... I don't think I've seen a single car the whole time we've been in this town... Oh god, there better be a car we can steal."

"Grand theft auto? I don't think my dad would approve." I comment.

"Tori!"

"Okay, okay. We shouldn't stay in one place long, anyway. Let's go." I nod.

The brutes are definitely still looking around, so we have to be careful. We nearly got caught leaving the alley, but luckily the guy was too busy looking into a trash can to notice us. What is with these guys looking in garbage places to find us? Are they trying to say we're trash? Jerks.

I'm pulling Cat slowly along another street, and we seem to be in the clear until a booming voice makes my hair stand on end.

"There they are!"

"Shit," I curse, breaking out at a run.

"Stop them!"

"Where do we go!?" Cat calls out to me.

"I have no idea!" I yell back. All I know is I won't let them get to her.

We run into another alley and, to our dismay, there's no dumpster to hide behind this time. We can't keep running forever. I stop, grabbing Cat by the shoulders.

"We have to split up. I'll lead them away." I tell her.

"What? Tor, no, don't give me that heroic bullshit. I'm not leaving you." Cat states adamantly.

"One of us can get away. We have to try." I plead, and she crosses her arms.

"Fine! Then _I'll_ lead them away." Cat declares.

"Cat, we don't have time to argue!" I snap.

"Tori's right!"

We both turn to see, shockingly, Kayla from the diner at the end of the alleyway.

"K-Kayla?" I gawk. She beckons us toward her.

"Follow me! Like I said, no time to argue!" She hisses, darting out of sight. We look behind us to see two of the brutes barreling towards us, and we really don't have a choice.

"Come on!" I grab Cat's hand again and pull her in the direction of Kayla. She holds on tight, as if to make sure I don't split away from her like I planned.

My legs and lungs burn from pushing myself to run the fastest I can. I don't want to risk being caught and what might happen if we are. That's why I'm trusting Kayla on this, because I feel like I could take her on rather than four big guys.

Or Kayla could be some underground fighter. Who knows?

We find Kayla around the corner outside a convenience store, closed for the night. She's standing near the automatic doors, keeping them open.

"Cut through here." She instructs quickly. We waste no time turning in. "Go out through the back and wait there for me."

When we get to the back through all the rows of merchandise, Cat stops me.

"Can we trust her?" Cat mutters.

"I have no idea, but we don't have much of a choice." I sigh, pushing the door open which leads into another alley. Kayla follows through the door behind us and shuts it.

"C'mon, almost there." She assures us, and leads us around the building behind the store. She brings us up these wooden stairs and fumbles with her keys.

Cat gives me a look that I interpret as "we can still get away", but I can hear someone down in the alley we were just in, and I'm already too tired from running. Cat looks exhausted, too.

Kayla pushes the door open and ushers us in, locking it behind her. She slumps against the door, blowing out a breath.

"Stay away from the windows. Don't let them see you." She warns.

"Where are we?" Cat interrogates, and Kayla smiles.

"My apartment! I told you to drop by if you needed help." She beams proudly. Cat and I share another look.

"So what's the deal? Why did you help us?" I ask suspiciously. Kayla's face falls, and she nods solemnly.

"Yeah, I found out my flaw with giving you my address. I wouldn't trust me either after having a bunch of the town goons after me. So I decided to wait by the motel until you needed my help." She breathes, flopping on the couch. "Plus you don't know the layout of the town anyway, even if you did think to come here. I'm an idiot. Sorry."

I regard her slowly, still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Kayla seems harmless enough, though.

"So, you knew they'd be after us?" I question.

"Unfortunately, yes. I wanted to warn you at the diner. I swear I did. Once you said that you were stuck here for a few days, I knew right away. But I couldn't say anything at the diner. We would've been overheard." Kayla frowns, and she gets up to carefully check out a window.

"Isn't there police, or someone we can call against these guys clearly terrorizing the town?" Cat huffs.

"Sugar, they basically are the police." Kayla mutters, still searching out the window. "The closest thing we got, anyway."

"I knew it. See, Tori, this place is corrupt." Cat whines, sitting on the couch and putting her head in her hands. "This is my fault we're here. You were right. I should've been more careful with the directions…"

"Cat, stop." I murmur, sitting beside her and rubbing her back. I look up at Kayla who has now turned away from the window and is looking at the two of us with pity. "Do they always attack people from the outside?"

"Um, no, not really." Kayla explains, looking uncomfortable. "Just ones deemed 'worthy'."

Cat looks up, furrowing her brow. "And what makes us so 'worthy'?" She questions. Kayla shakes her head.

"I don't know. Believe me, I don't. I just knew you were chosen, and you two seemed so nice at the diner… I don't want this town to swallow you, too. I'll get you out. I promise." She chews her lip, not meeting our eyes. It's enough to make me stand up and try to interrogate her. She may be better than the guys out there, but that doesn't mean I trust her. Not yet.

"You know something about what the deal with this town is, though. Don't you?" I approach her slowly. Please don't say it's a fish cult.

"Yes! And I'll explain everything I know, I swear it. Just," Kayla sighs, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Just sit down and I'll make us tea, first. Relax. This is the safest place you could be."

I want answers now, but I decide to play by her rules. There's also a chance she could be our only friend, so I nod and sit back down. Kayla gives me a smile in response.

"I'm really sorry you've got tied up in all this." She sighs before heading into another room that I assume is the kitchen. I lean over close to Cat.

"Don't drink the tea." I whisper very quietly into her ear. She turns to me and nods, then gives me a quick peck on the lips. I've seen enough spy movies to not be dumb enough to drink a beverage provided by a stranger, thank you very much.

"I really am sorry." Cat mumbles.

"No – you were right before. I was too harsh on you. Road trips should be about adventure. Sometimes that adventure involves… a town with a cult?" I muse, and it's enough to have Cat's mouth twitch into a smile. I take her hands into mine. "Hey, we're going to get through this. Just like we always do."

"Still banking on how we only ever need each other to face the troubles in life?" She smirks.

"It hasn't failed us yet." I beam. She shakes her head, chuckling slightly, and then she leans up to kiss me again…

 _ **BANG BANG BANG**_

Are you serious?!

Cat jumps on my lap and a loud crash comes from the kitchen. Kayla runs out in a fury.

"Shit!" She curses. "I thought we had more time."

"They're here?" I hiss through gritted teeth, gently pushing Cat off me. "Did you set us up?"

"No, no I swear-" Kayla tries to defend herself, but she's cut off from a voice outside.

"C'mon, honey! Open up!"

"Just a minute!" Kayla calls out, and then turns to us. "You two have to get out of here." She shuffles us near a back window and opens it up. "Go through here."

"How can we trust you?" I interrogate. Kayla lets out a sigh.

"I guess you'll just have to take a chance. Fire escape or them." She states. Cat gives me a meaningful look.

"Tor, I think we should trust her." She mumbles. I give her a questioning look, but it's Cat. I trust Cat.

"Okay." I agree.

"You've got five seconds, Kayla!" The gruff voice from outside threatens.

"Believe me, they will kick down your door." I warn.

"Yeah, I know." Kayla sighs. "Go down the fire escape and head down the alleyway. Don't stop moving forward and you'll eventually reach the edge of town. It's about twenty-five miles to the next town. Then you can call for help."

"Twenty-five miles? Walking in the desert?" Cat gapes.

"It's better than staying here. Believe me." Kayla mutters.

"You're out of time, honey." The threatening voice reaches us.

"Go!" Kayla pleads, practically shoving us through the window. "I'm coming!" Is the last thing we hear from her before rushing down the steps on the fire escape. We reach the alleyway, and share a small look of determination.

"Hasn't failed us yet, right?" Cat asks.

"Right."

We quickly head down the alleyway, and I start to brainstorm ways we can walk in the desert for approximately eight hours without dying. We'll have to find something to cover our heads, and at least something to keep us hydrated…

"Wait," I grab Cat's wrist, stopping her.

"What?" She exasperates, clearly desperate to get out of here.

"We'll never survive the desert like this. We need supplies. That convenience store was open. We can double back and grab some things, and _then_ make our escape." I explain.

"You want to steal?!" Cat gasps.

"You were perfectly okay with the idea of stealing a car earlier!" I accuse. Cat ponders for a minute.

"Okay, you're right. It'll up our chances. I don't mind hurting this town's economy, anyway…" She sighs.

"That's my girl." I grin.

I take her hand and carefully pull her back to the store, and I'm kind of proud of myself for thinking this through before acting irrationally.

Of course, there are sometimes snags even in the most perfect of plans.

"Damnit!" I bang on the door sliding door, which will no longer slide open. "It was open before with Kayla!"

"Maybe she locked it?" Cat questions. "And maybe the back is still open. Let's go check." She suggests, running around the corner.

"Wait, Cat, you mean the door in the alleyway behind this place where the goons are right now? That door?! Cat!" I go to chase after her.

And sometimes plans hit more than one snag.

My foot hits a crack and my ankle twists painfully, and I feel the skin of my palms rip as I try to brace my fall. I let out a cry that I can't seem to stifle, and my ankle throbs. Fuck, did I seriously just break my ankle or something? This was _so_ not the time to be a klutz!

"Well, well, well," I hear the gravel crunch behind me. "What do we have here?"

"Looks like this bird had a bit of an accident." Another voice growls, and it grates on my ears. He leans down beside me. "Isn't that right, little birdy? You had a little accident?"

"Get away from me." I choke out.

"Oh, that's rich." Another one bellows. "She's mad at us, when all she had to do was come with us quietly and she wouldn't have gotten all hurt in the first place."

"Hey, I bet she's one of them people who blames all their troubles on others." A third one laughs. The one bending beside me leans in close, and I catch of a whiff of booze.

"Where's the little red bird?" He snarls.

"I don't know." I glower. Suddenly I'm yanked up by the arms roughly, an ugly and aggressive face pressed to my own.

"Wanna try that answer again?" My aggressor challenges. I want to cry, but I try to keep my cool. I almost spit in his face instead of answering, but he's shoved away.

"Hey! We were given orders not to rough our target up!"

"She's bein' difficult!"

I try to keep standing, but my ankle hurts so much I kind of just fall into a crouch. There's no way I can run away now, even if I get the chance.

"Whatever. We have one half." One of them grunts.

"That'll never be good 'nough." Another mutters.

"We'll get her later. Where she gonna go, huh?" The boozey one slurs.

"What the hell do you guys want with us?" I spit. "Is it because we're in a relationship? Is that it? Well fuck you!"

They all fall silent for a moment, and then they all burst out into very loud yet hallow laughter.

"Hey, hey birdy thinks we're one o' them homophobes." One of them cries. I'm picked up by the shoulders again, this time a lot less roughly thankfully.

"That ain't it, bird. We don't care where you put those lips an' fingers." The guy holding me rasps out. Well that was inappropriate way to reassure me.

"Yeah, Maxwell here is gay. Ain't dat right, Max?" The drunkard asks. I look up to see one of the burliest of the men of the group cross his arms with a big cheeky smile on his face.

Past him – and I barely catch it because she's under great cover from the shadows – is Cat looking at me from around the corner with absolute terror on her face. She looks ready to run out and take on all these guys for me.

"Nah it ain't nothin' like that, bird." One assures me, although I wouldn't say I'm any more comforted. "You're jus' gonna become part of the family, that's all!"

Definitely not comforted. Definitely sounds like a cult. I am so screwed.

"Can you walk?" I'm asked. I let out a small laugh.

"I don't know. Why don't you let me go so I can find out?" I suggest, and the three of them start laughing again.

"Oh, what a clever little bird. The mayor is gonna love you." The guy holding onto me chuckles. I let out a cry as I'm hoisted up over his shoulders. "This'll have to do."

"Let's bring her in, and get Johnny to stop harassing Kayla." The one named Max states.

"Alright, alright." Alcohol guy grumbles.

"My dad is a cop, you know!" I struggle, hitting the back of my new transportation.

"Ha! See if we care." He only barks in response. I look up to see Cat sneaking out, a fire in her eyes. I can't give her away so I do the only thing I can, and I shoot her the most intense warning look possible.

 _ **Don't you dare**_.

She catches my look and pauses a moment, but her returned look is desperate. She shakes her head. She won't leave me, and I know she won't give me up without a fight. But she'll get captured for sure, and this 'mayor' sounds like they need both of us. Besides, she'll be able to get help eventually.

" _Escape._ " I mouth over the shoulder of my kidnapper. " _Please_."

I see the tears streaming down her face, and she still hasn't moved. They could see her at any moment.

" _Please_."

She slowly nods and hesitantly backs back into the shadows. I feel my own tears run down my face. If I was dumb enough to get caught, at least Cat avoided detection.

Stay safe, Cat.

* * *

I was brought to what I assume is the town hall. It's the only nice building in this town. Sleek floors, red carpets, beautiful paintings – I can see where all the money goes.

I'm carried through these big wooden doors and practically tossed to the ground. I hear the clicking of high heels before I see them. I look up to see a woman in a black pantsuit smiling down on me.

"Tori Vega." She says coolly.

"How do you know my name?" I croak out.

"Oh, we know all about you." She chuckles, walking back to her desk. "We did some very extensive research. You have a very popular Splashface channel. In a relationship with Cat Valentine. Lives in Toronto, currently. And your singing career is blossoming quite nicely."

"Thanks." I mutter darkly. She studies me on the ground, and her face falls.

"What's wrong with her?" She asks the goons behind me.

"It wasn't us! She tripped." One of them explains.

"Hmm…" The mayor walks slowly to me. "No matter. Nothing one of our doctors can't fix, depending."

"Oh, I'd hate to waste any of your medical expenses. Just leave me in the desert. I'll crawl away." I huff. Her lips turn into a smile.

"All in due time, pet." She purrs. "My name is Lara."

"Awesome." I scoff. "What do you want with me and Cat?"

"You're certainly straight to the point, aren't you?" Lara comments, sounding unamused.

"Oh, she's not straight." Max pipes up. Lara shoots him a glare. "I'm… I'm just saying, maybe now we can have one of them Pride parades or somethin'."

"Maxwell." Lara snaps, and this very large and burly man stays obediently quiet. Lara looks around. "Where is Ms. Valentine, anyway?"

"We couldn't find her." The man who went to Kayla's house, Johnny, reveals.

"Fools. Incompetent fools." Lara glowers. "You know how I feel about incompetency."

"Sorry, Mayor." One of them bows his head, ashamed.

"We'll find her. We swear." Another chimes in.

"You better." Lara sighs. "In the meantime, you know where to put this one until we need her."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asks.

"Of course. No safer place to hold her than the mine pit." Lara states.

Oh, great.

"You won't get away with this, you know." I declare. "What – whatever you're doing. As soon as the cell tower is fixed, Cat's going to call and get help-"

"Cell tower?" Lara's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but then she smiles in understanding. "Ah, yes, that's what Kayla told you, isn't it?" She clicks her tongue. "You'll find the lack of reception and wifi here is intentional. We have… a very dedicated citizen who implements these blocks under my orders. No information gets in or out of this town without my say so." She grins.

"Sounds like a pretty fucked up system." I grumble. She leans down, grabbing my face with her hands.

"Oh, sweetie," She coos, ice in every syllable. "You should probably get used to it."

"My dad will find me." I say sharply. "He'll find Cat's phone records, and trace it back to the tow truck company and trace that back to the mechanic and trace that back to _you_ -"

"I think the chief of police of LA will find that your girlfriend's phone records have been erased, as is any records of a tow truck taking you here." She smiles smugly. "Like I said, we have a very dedicated citizen under my orders." She stands up, looking at her minions. "Take her away. Find the other one."

"Yes, ma'am." All four of the men agree.

I bite back tears as I'm hauled away again. Cat's my only hope.

* * *

"Oof!" I feel the wind knocked out of me as I hit the hard ground at the bottom of the 'mine pit'. I struggle to breathe again and once I can, I glare up at the man who threw me in. "Watch it, buddy! I thought you weren't supposed to hurt me!"

"We didn't get those orders this time." He chuckles, tossing a water bottle in after me. "Here, stay hydrated and try to stay alive long enough for us to come back for you after we've fetched your girlfriend."

"Stay away from her." I threaten, but he just laughs again.

"'Fraid we don't have much of a choice there, bird." He states. "By the way, I wouldn't go back in that tunnel behind you to try to find an escape, if I were you." He warns. "See, this pit is from a collapse in the old mines. It's kinda shaky in there. Cave-ins happen all the time."

"Thanks for the advice." I drawl sarcastically.

"Oh, and stay away from the walls. Rattlesnake nests. Hiss!" He hisses at me, and then starts hysterically laughing as he walks away. I pull in my knees close to myself. All alone, in a pit with rattlesnakes and falling rocks.

This was not my idea of a vacation.

I really want to cry, but I think I'm just angry more than anything. And I miss Cat, and I'm worried about her. And I'm tired. I still haven't had a full night's sleep in forever.

I crawl over to the water bottle and take a swig. I know I shouldn't drink from beverages that strangers give me, but it's all I have and I might be here for a while. Plus, some sleep sounds really good right now if it is drugged.

I'll just curl up _far away from any of the walls_ and maybe get some shut eye… there's nothing else I can do here…

"Tori!"

Like a ray of hope, Cat's voice reaches me from above. My eyes shoot up to look at her, and there she is at the top of the pit, looking down at me with so much worry in her face.

"Cat! Oh my god!" I shuffle closer to the wall she's at the top of. Rattlesnake nests be damned.

"Thank god, when I saw them throw you down here… I thought they might've killed you." She croaks, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Nope, still alive." I sigh. "What are you doing here?! You should be like, a third of the way to the next town by now!"

"I couldn't leave you. You know that. I've been following them ever since they took you." Cat sniffs, wiping her eyes.

"You're too sneaky for your own good." I shake my head.

"You know me. I like to get around undetected." Cat shrugs, and I smile in spite of the situation.

"Well you shouldn't stay here too long… they'll be back." I caution.

"I can't just leave you down there." She whines.

"Well do you have a rope, or a ladder?" I question. She bites her lip.

"Um, no… but I can find something!" Cat assures me.

"Cat, you really think you won't get caught while carrying a ladder around?" I scoff. Again, she bites her lip.

"What do you want me to do?" Cat questions. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to think.

"You're really not going to try and cross the desert to the next town?" I sigh.

"I'm not leaving you alone in this town, Tor. That's not an option for me. It's either we both leave or we're both stuck here." She promises. I let out another sigh. I should've known.

"Okay, then here's the plan." I get up on my knees, which still hurts my ankle but it's better than standing. "There's apparently some… tech guy in this town. A hacker or programmer or something. Anyway, he has the whole town under lock and key, I guess. But it's under the mayor's orders. If you find him and convince him to bring down the data barrier just long enough for you to call, then we can get the help we need."

"Okay, great. How do I find him?" Cat ponders.

"I'm not sure. Maybe find a computer store or something like that. Listen to the other residents. They should be waking up soon. You're good at sneaking around undetected, right?"

"Right." Cat smiles. "Yeah, I can do that. Find the tech guy, get him to drop the barrier, get help. Got it." Her smile fades. "I still feel bad leaving you down here."

"It's okay. I'm kind of useless right now, anyway. I can barely walk." I wince, trying to rotate my ankle.

"Aw, hun, are you okay?" Cat's voice is dripping with concern.

"I'm fine. Just worry about tech guy." I urge her. "Sooner you find him, the sooner this will be over."

"You won't be down there for long. I promise." She murmurs.

"And Cat?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." I call up to her. She smiles sadly.

"I love you, too. Hang in there, okay?"

"I will. Be safe." I feel my emotions beginning to choke me. If I start to cry, she'll probably jump into the pit to kiss me, and then we're both screwed.

"I will." Cat mutters, and she opts to blow me a kiss instead. Then, her head disappears.

Once again I'm alone, in a pit with rattlesnakes and falling rocks.

I bow my head and finally let myself cry. This is so fucked up. I just sent Cat on a very dangerous mission. We don't even know who the tech guy is. What if he hurts her? What if she's inducted into a fish cult? What if we never get out of this?

But depending on each other to get through the hard times has never failed us in the past.

Right?

* * *

 **Author's Notes: The plot thickens, I guess. Like maybe not quite Dairy Queen Blizzard thick, but more like a fruit smoothie. You know? Great, now I'm thirsty. But yeah! What do you guys think is going on? Not good stuff, I tell ya. Not good stuff. Somebody send Tori a ladder.**

 **Obviously, as mentioned in the chapter, I drew some inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft for this story, specifically "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (Hey, that looks a lot like the title of my thing!). Obviously I couldn't take EVERYTHING from the lovecraftian universe, specifically the supernatural aspects, but I wanted to play around with a really creepy/corrupted town. So maybe there won't be any monsters in this, but you might see that humans can be just as bad. Yaaaaaay!**

 **Fun Fact: I picture Max as a hybrid between Mr. T and The Rock.**


	3. Elysium

**Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Victorious. Stop asking. Do I look like someone who owns Victorious? Would I be on here making FanFiction for a thing that I own? Probably.**

* * *

Ugh.

You'd think, at some point, I'd actually be allowed to get some shut-eye.

But no. First I was woken up because we got lost, then I was woken up again because some people wanted to kidnap us in a screwed up town.

Now there's some sort of rattling. How rude can you get?

Wait…

Rattling?!

My eyes fly open and I'm momentarily blinded by the light shining into the pit, but soon I adjust and my fears are confirmed. Across from me is a long, coiled, and scaly creature staring at me. I can see the blur of its tail, signally its warning.

"Holy shit!" I cry out, shuffling back. The snake stares at me, and I'm suddenly locked in the strangest staring contest I've ever been in. I swallow hard, holding out my hand as if trying to send a signal of peace. "Um, whoa there, big guy. Sorry I kind of, uh, intruded on your home. Trust me, I don't want to be here, either."

Great, I'm talking to a snake. Heat stroke or some sort of desert madness must've taken affect.

The snake stays, staring, unblinking. How long do rattlesnakes keep up their warning until they finally strike? I hope they're patient.

"I, uh, I promise I won't hurt you, okay? Please don't bite me. That would make a really shitty day even shittier." I try to explain. The snake doesn't move, or acknowledge anything I said because it's a _fucking snake_.

This would be so much easier if I knew parseltongue.

I think if I just stay away from it, I'll be fine, right?

"Cat, please hurry." I mumble up to the sky. I'm hoping any moment she'll show up with the police. And maybe animal control.

And god, it's hot. I don't know how long I've been sleeping on the ground here. I wish I still had my phone so I could check how much time has passed, but they took it. Jerks.

I hope Cat's okay.

I start nursing the water bottle they gave me because have to keep my strength up. Meanwhile, I'm keeping my eye on that snake. I feel like I should name him at this point. Maraca sounds fitting, based on how much he loves shaking that tail.

Maybe I should train Maraca to do my bidding. If one of those guys come here before Cat does, I'll just make Maraca attack them. Perfect.

But I feel like that would take some positive reinforcement by form of dead mice, of which I have none. It's a harebrained plan, anyway.

I feel like I should be doing _something_. I take my eyes off Maraca for a moment to peer down the dark, spooky tunnel of the old mine. Maybe there is a way out through there. Plus, it's shaded so it's probably way cooler. I mean sure, there's a chance of a cave in but there's also a chance I was told that just so I wouldn't find a way to escape.

So my choices are: possible instant death by cave in and yet possible chance of escape, OR possible slow agonizing death by Maraca bite/heat stroke and no chance of escape.

Well, I need to test my ankle strength anyway. I start to push myself up and my ankle throbs in pain, but at least I can put weight on it. That's a good sign.

I start to turn to go into the tunnel, but Maraca gets a little clingy and starts rattling even louder. I immediately drop back to the ground. I'd have to go closer to Maraca to even get into the tunnel, so I guess so much for that plan.

"You know, you're really making this difficult for me." I sigh, pulling up my knees to me chest and resting my chin on top of them. I know I sound crazy for talking to a snake, but I feel like Cat would be proud of me for making a snake frenemy.

"Who're you talking to down there?" I hear a bark from above. I look up to see one of the men glaring down at me. Shit, I should've trained Maraca when I had the chance. "Are you talking to the snake? Hey, Max, she's talkin' to a snake!"

"Crazy bird." Max leans his head over the side as well, and I notice he's carrying something metal. He drops it the bottom, leaning it against the wall. A ladder. "C'mon, bird. The mayor wants to see ya."

I don't move, instead deciding to allow my frustrations to form into a snarky reply.

"No, I'm good. Thanks." I scoff. The other one snorts.

"So you're just going to stay down there an' waste away?" He asks.

"Sounds more fun than going with you guys." I retort. The man seems to turn red.

"Why you little…" He growls, but Max holds him back.

"I'd come up if I were you, bird." Max states. "Ya see, we recently acquired your little red bird friend… it'd certainly be a shame if something bad were to happen to her because you weren't bein' all cooperative."

I feel my heart stop for a moment.

"You have Cat?" I gape, my voice cracking a bit.

"Why don't you come up here and see." Max grins. I grit my teeth. I can't risk the possibility of them hurting Cat if they really do have her.

"Fine." I mutter. I'm able to push myself up and limp slowly to the ladder. Maraca gets louder again, as if to protest my leaving.

"That's a good bird." The other man sneers. "And don't try any funny business."

Before I even reach the top of the ladder, I'm lifted up and dragged away from the top of the pit. I never even had a chance to try anything funny.

Max continues to pull me away, and from behind me I hear a loud bang. This told me two things.

1 – they have guns.

2 – _he just killed Maraca_.

* * *

"Ah, Tori, how nice of you to join us." Lara gives a stiff smile. I'm thrown on the floor like before, but this time I have the strength to stand up and face her.

"Where's Cat?" I glower. Her smile tightens even more, and then gestures to the side of the room. The two other goons I recognize are there, holding Cat. She looks at me sadly.

"I'm so sorry." She croaks out. She looks defeated but unharmed, and that's all I care about.

"Alright, fine. You have both of us. Can you at least tell us what this is all about?" I interrogate. "You at least owe us that."

She smirks, sauntering over to me. "Of course, my darling pet. You never even gave me a chance." Lara coos, touching my cheek. I flinch away.

"Don't touch her." Cat growls. Lara gives a light laugh, looking in Cat's direction.

"You're quite protective, aren't you? It was so easy to spread a rumour that your girlfriend would be killed if you didn't turn yourself in. You took the bait as soon as you overheard it, didn't you?" Lara sneers, and Cat hangs her head. "So predictable. You two certainly are perfect for this."

So that's how they caught Cat. I can't blame her. They got me to climb out of the pit in the same way. I guess we are predictable.

"So is this the part where you sacrifice us to your cult god or something?" I spit, and Lara stares at me for a moment before throwing her head back in a horrendous laugh.

"A cult? Is that what you thought this was? You foolish girl. Lysium has no religion." She mutters, walking to the window. "I am a visionary. The world is such a troubled place. Society is simply an enormous malfunction across the map."

"Yeah, I think your town is a prime example." I seethe. Lara whips around, fury in her eyes, and then her face softens back to neutral.

"It's a work in progress." She states. "My aim is to make Lysium the definition of a perfectly functioning town. A utopia."

"How?" Cat asks.

"By bringing the best of the best here to lend their services." Lara explains. "We have five star chefs, some of the top doctors, the strongest for our police force…" She looks to her minions. "Several others. We're looking into finding some of the best construction workers to fix up the town a little bit. They have to drive through at some point. If not, we'll go out and find some ourselves."

That explains the amazing diner food, and the top of the line tech. Plus, Kayla was probably kept here as a waitress simply because of her good looks. She must be here against her will, too. Which begs the question…

"How does that even work? If these people are at the top of their fields, why would they want to stay in a slum like this?" I accuse. I expect Lara to glare at me again, but instead her smile widens.

"You'll find we can be very… persuasive." She purrs, walking over to Cat. I tense when Lara runs her fingers through Cat's hair. Cat gives Lara the bitterest scowl I've ever seen her give. "That's why it's so perfect that you have each other. Think of it as a form of leverage. Everyone here is complacent because we have something of theirs that they're not willing to lose. Whether that be money, possessions, secrets, or people."

"So you blackmail them." I observe.

"I've found it effective." Lara claims, looking proud. "It doesn't matter. Once this place reaches perfection, everyone will want to stay here anyway. Even without our… encouragement."

"That's fucked up." I mutter darkly. So this woman is basically trying to play The Sims, except in real life. And she makes sure no one escapes or is able to get help by blocking out outside communication, and then using something against them to threaten them into obeying her. She's psychotic. "You guys could take her on easily! Why don't you take a stand?" I shout at the men around me.

"She ain't got nothing on us." Johnny shrugs.

"Yeah, we just like our job here." Another agrees.

"A power trip." Cat concludes.

"Hey, it's better than any other job we could get." Max states. "Although I still wouldn't mind a pride parade…"

"Maxwell!" Lara snaps, and again Max shuts up. She turns back to me and Cat with a smile. "You should be excited. You were chosen to be a part of my perfect town."

"And what exactly do we have to offer?" Cat questions.

"I'm glad you asked." Lara beams. "We lack a lot of entertainment in Lysium so far. We have a movie theatre, but we need more. We also have a piano player – one that played with The New York Philharmonics! But we still need…"

"A singer." I finish, my glare fixed on her.

"Precisely." Lara confirms.

"And what if we refuse?" Cat asks.

"Were you not listening? Then something unfortunate may happen to something you care about." Lara states, and then strides over to me. She slaps me across the face, leaving me dazed for a moment. Wow, I have wanted to punch a lot of people in the face over the years… Jade, Barry, Moose… but his woman takes the cake.

"No! Don't!" Cat cries, tugging against the men holding her, but their grip is too strong. Probably a good thing for Lara. I'd hate to see anyone face Cat's full-on wrath.

"I'm glad you see it my way." Lara rubs her hand thoughtfully.

"Thanks… for the demonstration…" I sputter, holding my now-stinging cheek. "By the way, fuck you."

"Careful, Tori. You'll want to stay on my good side." Lara warns. "You see, I only need one of you to act as the lounge singer. The other will be the leverage."

"And what does the leverage do?" Cat asks, her voice trembling.

"We'll keep her away from you, somewhere safe. And she's only safe as long as you be a good little citizen and do your job." Lara smirks. "The problem is, you're both singers and research has shown that you're both quite good. We can't decide. So tomorrow we'll have you both sing for the town. The residents will pick who will be the town's singer."

"So you're having Cat and I compete against each other." I glare.

"You certainly are perceptive." Lara taps me on the nose, making me flinch again. "So I suggest you both rest up those vocal chords. You have a big day tomorrow."

"I won't compete against Tori." Cat declares. Lara scowls, and I'm afraid she's going to slap Cat for a moment.

"You'd better reconsider. After all, the winner will live as a citizen in the perfect town. The loser will live as our prisoner." Lara threatens. Both Cat and I glare daggers at this so-called perfect mayor.

"You won't get away with this." I promise, and Lara leans next to my ear.

"Watch me." She whispers, and then stands up straight. "Take these two to the broom closet here. Bring the ice and bandage from the clinic as well as some food and water. Lock them in and _don't_ let them escape."

"Yes ma'am." The men all call back, and once again I'm being roughly dragged through the hallways. I hear someone behind me complain that Cat bit him.

We're tossed into the broom closet with a couple containers of food and some water, then Johnny stands at the entrance, tossing in the dressing bandage and a bag for ice.

"For your ankle, bird." Johnny grunts. "And if you two try to fuck in there before you're split up from each other forever, try to keep it down."

One of the other guys shoves Johnny aside, and the door slams shut. "That was inappropriate, man. Watch your mouth."

Their voices fade away and I slump against the back wall, holding my head in my hands.

"I can't believe this is happening." I breathe. The only bright side is Cat jumping on my lap, her arms tightly wrapping around my neck and her head burying into my shoulder.

"At least we're okay." She murmurs.

"Yeah. For now." I sigh. "This is some… dystopian shit. A woman trying to build her own town by kidnapping people to work here? Really?"

"She's deranged, clearly." Cat mumbles. "Can I just… be happy for a moment that I'm back in your arms? Please."

"Of course, love." I whisper, stroking through her hair. "I'm glad I'm with you, too."

She pulls back, gently touching my cheek. "Is your face okay? Your ankle? Your… everything?" She asks frantically. I smile to help placate her.

"Cat, I'm fine. Just a little sore in some places." I assure her. "Although my ankle feels swollen."

"Oh, gosh, of course. Let me use that stuff they gave us…" Cat jumps up, taking the ice and dressing. She slides under my leg and elevates my ankle up on her lap, then she starts carefully taking off my shoe and sock. She frowns when she sees it. Geez, it really is swollen. "Nice of them to give us stuff to help you get better for our escape."

"Our what?" I question, and she looks up at me.

"Well we're going to escape, right? We're going to get out and stop this madness." She looks at me with such resolve it's hard not to feel motivated. Even after being captured, being told we're going to be split up from each other, and looking so defeated, she's not ready to give up.

"Of course, Cat." I say in the softest voice. I don't know how we're going to do that, but we have to try. I'll try for Cat.

She smiles and turns back to my ankle, gently wrapping it up. "Good. Because that monster in a woman's body thought she found our weakness, or at least the weakness of the human condition. She thinks she can control us using each other."

"Didn't it work, though? I mean, she got both of us." I mutter, and Cat nods slowly.

"Yeah, but she doesn't see the strength we gain from that, too." Cat states, clipping the bandage into place. "Too tight?"

"No, it's good." I breathe, tilting my head to catch her eye. "What strength is that?"

She bites her lip and tears fill her eyes, but she looks anything but vulnerable. "There's no way I'm letting her use one of us as leverage while the other becomes a part of her own twisted dollhouse. There's no way in _hell_ I'm ever letting her split us up." Her fingers trace up along my shin and up over my knee and down again as her other hand tenderly places the ice on my ankle. "Anyone who threatens my relationship with you messed with the wrong tiny red bird."

I can't help but beam and my heart nearly bursts with pride. That's right. That's what makes us so strong. That's what will make us fight tooth and nail to get through this situation. Lara is going to regret marking us as 'worthy'.

"Okay, so what do we do? I mean, I'm all in to fuck shit up here, don't get me wrong. But we're not actually action heroes. It's not like we have experience overthrowing governments. The worst we face these days is whether we should get Chipotle or Pizza Hut." I groan. Cat furrows her brow for a moment.

"Okay, first step to becoming action heroes: eat better." Cat declares.

"Got it." I chuckle.

"Second step… breaking out of here. And then…"

"And then sticking to the original plan? Finding tech guy?" I throw in.

"Yes, exactly." Cat grins, leaning down to kiss my leg. She rests her chin on my knee, giving an adorable pout. You'd think I'd be more nervous while being held hostage, but it's hard to feel so dire when Cat is busy being so cute. "Did your dad ever teach you to kick down doors?"

"Yes, actually. He felt it was an important life skill." I explain.

"I agree with your dad." Cat nods. "Can you kick down that door? Even with your ankle?"

"Probably." I narrow my eyes at the door. It doesn't look structurally sound enough to withstand a swift kick. "But my dad also taught me to check the doorknob first, just so I don't break a perfectly good door."

"You really think those guys would be stupid enough to leave it unlocked?" Cat asks, and I shrug.

"Not to slap them with the stereotype of 'all brawn and no brains', but you never know." I urge. Cat chews on her lip for a moment before carefully getting up and walking to the door. She jiggles the knob, but the door doesn't budge.

"Hey! Nice try, birdies." A deep voice from outside mutters gruffly. "I heard that. Don't be causing me too much trouble. I have ta miss $10 beer pitchers keeping watch over this here broom closet. Have some respect!"

Ah, so it's the alcohol-loving one. Can't say I still relate with him on that one.

"Damnit." Cat curses, slumping back down next to me.

"It was worth a shot." I sigh.

"No, but this means he's standing right out there. Even if you kick the door down, he'll just grab us. Or one of us, and I'd rather that not happen again." She frowns.

"We'll think of something." I try to keep up her level of optimism for her sake. "Maybe there's a secret passage to the library in here."

She looks at me with an endearing smirk. "Unfortunately, our life isn't like that Breakfast Club dream you once had back in high school."

"You had the same dream and you know it." I chuckle. She sighs, stretching out her arms.

"Maybe we should have some of the food they gave us. Keep our energy up for our great escape." Cat mumbles, but I grasp her arm.

"Wait," I start, "We've been trapped in a closet for a while now and you have yet to kiss me."

She grins with that glint in her eye, and she cups my face before pressing her lips to mine.

"We're not… going to… while he's… right outside…" She murmurs between kisses.

"Oh god no." I grunt, deepening the kiss even more. I swear I hear the guy curse.

We ended up, uh, making out for a long while. We had a lot of romantic tension to release. Some sexual tension too, but you know. Not the time. And the ground is a little hard.

The food was basically stale bread and canned veggies. I guess prisoners don't get the five star stuff. I wonder what the leverage people get. I'm definitely making sure that neither of us are subjected to that. And even if one of us were to win the 'singer' gig – no matter what, we're a prisoner.

Cat told me to sleep because I still seemed really tired, and she would brainstorm. She knows me so well. So right now I'm curled up in her arms, head against her chest, the rhythm of her breathing being the lullaby accompanying me as I fall into blissful unconsciousness…

So you see where this is going, right? Of course you do.

"Cat! Tori!"

"Five more minutes." I grumble, turning into Cat more.

"Tori…" Cat chuckles. "That sounded like Kayla."

"Why would she be here?" I mutter.

"I can hear you guys, you know. I'm here to break you out!" Kayla yells through the door. "But we don't have much time. Hurry!"

"Ugh! Fine!" I throw my hands up, leaning off of Cat. She helps me up and I limp to the door.

"Uh, did you guys not want to be rescued?" Kayla asks, and Cat gently nudges me.

"Ignore Tori. She's a little grumpy from lack of sleep." She explains, and I just grunt. "What about the guard?"

"I got rid of him, but he won't be gone long!" Kayla warns.

"Okay, great. Do you have a key?" Cat asks.

"No, I couldn't figure out a way to convince him to give me it." Kayla sighs. Cat looks over at me, and I sigh.

"Alright. Kayla, stand back!" I order, and then I rotate my shoulders and neck. A couple of satisfying pops erupt from my stiff limbs, and then I use all my force to drive my foot right underneath the doorknob. Something snaps, and the door flies open. I look at Cat's awed face and I feel a smug look appear on my own. Okay, being admired by my girlfriend was worth being woken up for.

"Not going to lie, I'm a little turned on right now." Cat gapes.

"Excuse me, can that wait until later?" Kayla huffs.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Cat blushes, pulling me out of the closet.

"How'd you get rid of the guard anyway?" I question. Even though I'm 90% sure she's in the same position as we are, I still don't completely trust her.

"I told him there was free alcohol. And I used some… other methods to entice him." She gestures down to her unbuttoned blouse.

"Ah." I nod, and I feel Cat pinch me. I give her a sheepish grin. As if I'd be enticed by any other woman but her.

"The only good thing about a guy who thinks with his dick is that sometimes we can use that to our advantage." Kayla mutters. "But it's only a matter of time before he realizes I was lying. And god knows what'll happen if the mayor walks in right now."

"Okay, so tell us who the tech guy is. We want him to shut down all his gadgets so we can call for help." Cat explains, and Kayla smirks, again gesturing to herself.

"You're looking at her." She remarks. Both of our jaws drop.

"But I thought you were a waitress!" I exclaim.

"I'm a girl of many talents. I was also elected as a piece of eye candy beyond just what I can do with my brain." Kayla huffs. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Oh, well, not surprised. Of course not. Why wouldn't you be good with tech?" I laugh nervously. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I try to stay under the radar. If the residents knew I was the one keeping them from the outside world, they'd have my head on a pike." Kayla mutters, suddenly looking quite guilt ridden. She almost looks physically ill at the knowledge of what she's done.

"So lift the veil! Let us call for help!" Cat exclaims.

"It's not that easy!" Kayla groans.

"Why not?" Cat glowers, but a light bulb goes off in my head.

"Your leverage." I comment, and Kayla nods with tears filling her eyes.

"I drove through here six years ago. Same thing happened to me that happened to you. Car broke down, and suddenly we were stuck here waiting for a new part. The town was a lot more barren then." She bites her lip. "I was with my sister, Holly."

"She's your leverage." Cat notes, and a tear escapes Kayla's eye.

"I haven't seen her in six years. She's two years older than me. She'd be thirty, now…" She sniffs. "All I know is that as long as I keep blocking signals and controlling the data coming through, she's safe. I only get notes from her from time to time…" Kayla pinches the bridge of her nose, struggling to control her emotions.

"I understand. I know the lengths I'd go through to protect Tori." Cat says slowly, "But if you were in control of tech, couldn't you slip an SOS through?"

Kayla shakes her head, seeming to have taken hold of her feelings. "I wanted to, but the mayor monitors everything. I tried once, and the mayor blocked it before it left our network. Then she told me she hoped I heard my sister's screams that night." Her fists clench. "I didn't try that again. I just couldn't put her at risk. I knew that if I made the mayor's dystopia crumble, she'd take the person most important to me before she admitted defeat."

"So, I can guess why you rescued us." I state, and Kayla nods.

"I need you to rescue my sister. Get her away from them – to safety. Then I can bring everything down." Kayla claims.

"Of course we'll rescue her." Cat promise, and Kayla gives us a teary smile.

"Thank you." She breathes.

"Where are they keeping her?" I inquire.

"Well obviously they're not keeping everyone in a broom closet. Where else would the mayor keep all the human leverages isolated from the rest of the town?" Kayla questions, even though she already knows the answer. And with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach, I do too.

"The abandoned mine." I groan.

"Exactly." Kayla confirms.

"I thought it was collapsing." I scoff.

"Sections of it are, but there's a part still fortified. I have a map to the entrance." Kayla unfolds a crumpled piece of paper. "If you blend in, you won't be noticed. Cover that red hair with a hat, or something. There might be a guard in the mines, though, so be careful. And _please_ be quick. The mayor is going to figure out I helped you, and then-"

"Hey, we'll save your sister." I assure her. "We'll save this whole town."

She gives us a smile, and I swear I see something flash in her eyes – something missing from most of the residents here. Hope.

* * *

"Tor… are you sure this is safe?" Cat bites her lip as we gauge the dark entrance of the mine. The opening seems to be held up by wooden beams, but they look old and like they might snap at any moment. It gives off the vibe that going in might mean not coming out.

"I have no idea." I grimace. "I only experienced a small piece of these mines and I didn't like it very much."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. It must've been terrifying." Cat pouts.

"Oh, it wasn't all bad. I made friends with a rattlesnake. Named him Maraca." I recall.

"I am so proud of you." Cat remarks, and I laugh.

"I thought you might be." I grin, but my face falls. "Too bad he got shot."

Cat's face drains to a ghostly pale. "They have guns?"

"Yeah… we'll have to be careful." I frown. "It's not too late, you know. We could try to brave the desert, make it to the next town."

"You know we can't." Cat sighs. "We can't leave Kayla like that and whatever might happen to her sister – even if we do cross the desert and manage to get help."

"I knew you'd say that." I give her a small smile. "No turning back now."

"Got that right." She mumbles. I look over the horizon at the orange and pink sky. The sun is starting to set. I hope it won't be the last time I see the sun.

"Let's go." I nod, and she follows me inside. Luckily Kayla gave us a flashlight to work with. It's goddamn dark in here. "Stay close. I don't want one of those situations where a cave-in happens and we're separated."

"Ugh. I'd have such a panic attack if that happened." Cat shudders, and I feel her grab my arm tightly. "Or we could have one of those Scooby-Doo situations. You know, where they're walking through a dark area and they come out holding hands with the bad guy?"

"…Cat, you know I normally absolutely adore your imagination, but I'm already freaked out enough as it is."

"Sorry."

I shine the light around the dank tunnel. The walls seem damp, which is strange. I don't know where the water would be coming from. I guess I shouldn't spend too much time thinking about the geographical activity. I should be more worried there's a dude possibly with a gun in here.

"I hope there aren't any spiders." Cat mumbles.

"You're worried about spiders?" I question.

"They're even creepier when you can't see them." She comments.

"Well… you have a point there." I sigh, and then I stop when I notice we've hit a fork in the tunnels. "Damnit. Which way?"

"Tori Vega don't you dare make us split up." Cat hisses.

"And leave you for the spiders? Not a chance." I joke, but honestly I'm not too fond of the thought of walking around in here alone. At least it's not as bad as my fear of heights, but I don't particularly _like_ the dark.

"Okay, so, any ideas?" Cat squeezes my arm tighter. I bite my lip and shine the light at the ground.

"The floor into the left side looks more disturbed." I observe.

"It's like you were born to do rescue missions in mines." Cat giggles.

"I'll remember that if my singing career fails." I mutter, walking down the left tunnel. "I just hope we don't have to go down one of those creepy mine elevators."

"…Hey, Tori…"

"Mhm?"

"If we die-"

"We're _not_ going to die." I assure her.

"Just let me finish." Cat huffs, and I close my mouth. "If we die down here, I want you to know that I don't have any regrets anymore. Everything I went through – it brought me to you. And you've made me so happy. So, it'd suck if this mine collapsed on us and I couldn't enjoy more of life with you, but if it does then… at least I'd die with my heart full."

"Cat…" I sigh. "Again, we're _not_ going to die. But yeah, I've been thinking about how this would all be much more horrible if you weren't by my side." I murmur. "And you're going to be by my side for a lot longer, right?"

"Right." Cat breathes, and she squeezes my arm tightly. "I think I see a light up ahead."

She's right. There's a soft glow flooding in from around the bend. I shut off my light and we both go into a crouch, sneaking around the side.

The light is coming from those typical lamps you usually see strung up in tunnels, and it illuminates a sort of hallway. The hallway is full of metal doors, almost like a prison.

"Jackpot." I whisper.

"I don't see one of those big guys." She whispers back.

"He might be nearby. C'mon, let's check the doors." I pull her up, and she stops me.

"Wait, I've been thinking." Cat bites her lip. "Look at this place. Whoever has been used as leverage, they've been trapped in here. For a long time. We know Holly has been in here for six years. That… That could really mess someone up. We need to be careful of that, too."

Again, she's right. I don't know if my sanity would last being locked up in a mine for years. At least in prison they let the prisoners go out to the yard, or whatever. This is worse than a prison. I guess you can't expect someone to treat others humanely when that someone thinks of others as simple pawns in their master plan.

"Okay. Yeah. Got it." I nod. I really hope Holly was able to hang on. If she didn't… poor Kayla.

"H-Hey… is there… is there someone out there?" A crackled voice comes from the nearest door. "I hear a woman's voice… is there a woman out there?"

"Oh god." I swallow hard. "Yeah. I'm here with someone else. Who's in there?" I question.

"Wait, you sound familiar…" The voice ponders. The voice sounds familiar to me too, actually. "Here, slide the little window open."

I view the door meticulously. It's large, metal – definitely something I couldn't kick down. It looks like something crafted perfectly for an insane asylum. I can't help but think it's because Lara captured the 'perfect' engineer and that they might've had to construct these doors to hold their loved ones in. It makes me sick.

I cautiously slide the slot open, and my eyes widen.

"You're the tow truck guy!" I exclaim, instantly recognizing the hat.

"And you're the two girls I took here!" He growls. "Were you in on it?"

"No! We're trying to stop this place!" I try to explain.

"Wow, Lara really doesn't cut corners when tying up loose ends." Cat gasps. "Tor, we have to get him out. It's technically our fault he's in here."

"Yes! Please get me out!" He pleads.

"Okay." I nod. "Do you know where the guard is?"

"He um… he sometimes walks through here. I don't know. I haven't been here long, and I'm behind a door!" He cries.

"Alright, alright." I hold up my hands. "Let's find Holly and then… hope the guard left the keys somewhere."

"Great." Cat blows out a breath.

"If you guys get me out of here, you'll get… free tow truck rides for life! I promise!" The tow truck guy exclaims.

"Oh. Thanks." I blink, taking Cat's hand. "Let's go."

I take a deep breath before sliding open the slot of the next door. It's dark inside, so I shine my flashlight in. There's a figure trembling in the corner, and I can make out some shallow breathing.

"Um, Holly?" I question. The figure doesn't react, so I try to have to flashlight at better angle. It shines in their face and they look up. Their eyes are hallow, almost lifeless. They look right past me. I step back with a frown and close the slot.

"Tori… what'd you see?" Cat asks. I bite my lip. My stomach churns uneasily. I feel like I've really seen the worst of humanity. It's not something I can un-see.

"Just that you were right about this place messing people up." I breathe, and she touches my shoulder.

"Was it Holly?" She questions gently, and I shake my head.

"No. Holly is supposed to be around thirty. That person in there… they're just a kid. Around eleven or twelve. Someone's daughter or something…" I mutter. Her hand squeezes my shoulder and I have to wipe my eyes.

"Are you okay to keep looking?" She murmurs, and I put on a brave face.

"Yeah. We have to get Holly out of here so I can throw that Charles Manson of a mayor off the tallest cliff I can find." I grit my teeth, going to the next door. I push open the slot, hoping to see something better. But I don't see anything.

"Tor, this doors unlocked." Cat notes, pushing it open. An empty cell. I blow out a long breath. I think I needed to see that. I needed to see that they didn't fill all the cells with innocent people.

Okay, next one.

My blood already runs cold when I hear frantic muttering inside the cell.

I open it and look in. Some man is crawling around, rambling lowly about being inside a giant snake, and how the venom consumes him. Not Holly either.

"I'm checking the next one for you." Cat states.

"No, it's okay." I shake my head.

"No it's _not_. You look like you're about to pass out. We'll take turns checking the cells." Cat demands, and opens the slot to the next door.

" _ **Rrrrraaaaauuuuuughhhhhh!**_ "

Cat shrieks and jumps back into my arms when some woman leaps right to the window, screaming her lungs out and banging against the door.

"Oh god. Please don't tell me that's Holly." Cat groans.

"Hey! Keep that racket down! Son of a-"

We all freeze when yet another big burly man strolls in from the other side of the hallway. He looks like Thor. Great.

"What are you doing down here?" He growls. "You're the two escapees aren't you? The mayor radioed me."

"And you must be the guard who stands around scratching his crotch while these human beings waste away!" I exclaim. He smirks, cracking his neck.

"Yeah, that's me." He confirms. "Man, it's been awhile since I roughed someone up. This'll be fun."

"Cat, run!" I yell.

But my ankle is still hurt. I can't run. He yanks my hair before I can even make a few steps and I'm flung back painfully, his arm locking around my neck and holding me in place. I feel my windpipe constrict. I can't breathe.

"Luckily for me, the mayor's orders were 'dead or alive'." He chuckles. "I'd probably get more praise for 'alive', but 'dead' seems just so much more satisfying."

"Don't – hurt – her!" Cat cries, and I feel him stumble as she jumps on his back. He releases me and I fall to the ground, choking, trying not to gag.

I look up to see Thor-man struggling as Cat scratches at his face. His features fill with a tinge of oozing red liquid. Good. That's my girl.

Unfortunately what Cat has in feistiness, he makes up for in strength alone. He reaches around and I can only watch in horror as he _chucks her against the wall_.

Before I can even react, he turns and I feel the impact of his boot – moments after seeing it flying at my face. My vision blurs and head pounds, and I can't get my bearings. But I can still hear.

"You bitch. You cut my face up."

"I'm called Cat for a reason." She groans, and she sounds in pain. My head starts to clear and my heart races in a panic when I see he's staring down at Cat, a gun in his hands. Nobody points a gun at my girl.

"Oh, it'll be so nice to see that hair of yours dyed in a different shade of red." He seethes, and I know he's not bluffing. I have to act now. I leap forward, grabbing his arm.

The gun goes off.

It went off in Cat's direction.

I want to scream, to check on her, to hold her in my arms, to feel that she's still alive, but I have to deal with this fucker first.

"That was a dumb move, broad." He grunts, grabbing onto me. I see him try to aim his gun again, this time at me. My first instinct is to slam my fist into his face, but I know from experience that that doesn't work out well. Luckily, I got my dad to teach me some self-defence since then.

You know how you're supposed to use their weight against them? Screw that.

I pinch him under his arms as hard as I can, and he cries out in pain. The gun clatters to the floor. Thank you, dad. Always looking out for me.

I clutch the gun in my hand, and it feels almost dirty to hold it, but at least now I have the advantage.

My hands are shaking, holding the gun up to him, finger floating over the trigger. He rubs under his tender arms.

"What a cheap trick." He grumbles.

"You're a cheap excuse for a human." I spit back. I want to check on Cat, but she's somewhere behind me, and I can't take my eyes off him. "Cat, you okay?"

It petrifies me that I don't get an answer.

A smirk grows on his face. "What's the problem? Somethin' happen to your girlfriend? You better go to her…" He entices, but I can see through his games.

"Fuck you." I take a menacing step towards him.

"You won't kill me. You're too 'good' for that kind of thing, aren't ya?" He goads.

"You're right." I glower. "But you shot at my girlfriend. You're sadistic. And I can leave a few holes in your legs without killing you."

His faces goes blank for a moment and I take the opportunity to snatch at the key around his waist. One single key. Must be a skeleton key for all the cells.

I gesture with my head to the open cell door. "Get in." I order. He glares at me, his face going red, but he obediently goes in. I slam the door behind him and lock it, and then stumble back with an emotional gasp. I did it. Somehow.

I turn towards Cat and the first thing I see is her staring, unblinking eyes. And then I see the red trailing down the side of her face, and my heart leaps into my throat.

I would've thought she were dead if she hadn't been kneeling with shallow breaths wracking her body.

"Cat? Cat." I kneel down beside her, grabbing her shoulders. "Cat. You're okay. It's over. I've got you. You're okay."

She blinks a bit, but she doesn't say anything. Shit. She hasn't disassociated for a long time. I can imagine being shot at would do that to a person.

I check the source of the blood. There's a streak right along her temple. I was that close to losing her. That close.

"Oh, Cat." I take her into my arms, crying slightly. I need to feel her breathe right now. "You're okay. You're okay."

I keep repeating that until she believes me, and she eventually shudders out a sobs. She cries into my shoulder, and I stroke her hair, waiting for her to say something.

"…You… are such a badass." She croaks out. I smile at that. She's back.

"Look who's talking. You jumped on his back." I mumble into her hair.

"I guess we make a good team. But, let's not make a habit of this? Too much excitement." She shudders, and I squeeze her tight, giving her mini kisses over her head.

"Deal." I sigh. She pushes back, nodding to signal she's okay.

"Oh, hun, your eyebrow is cut." She frowns, pushing back my bangs.

"And you have a gunshot wound. I'm pretty lucky, considering." I sigh, trying to wipe away some of the blood from her face. At least it looks like the scratch has clotted over already.

"Let's just finish all this so we can curl up and go to bed." She whines.

"That's the best idea I've ever heard." I state, pulling her up. She gives me an affectionate kiss, and then we make our way to the new prisoner. I open the slot.

"Your girlfriend is alive, huh? How nice for you." He mutters.

"Aw, having a bad day?" I mock-pout.

"Fuck off." He growls.

"Not until you tell us which cell Holly is in." I urge, even though it's probably the screaming woman. That'd be just our luck.

His face goes blank again, for a moment. "Holly...? Oh! You mean that one Mexican broad." He grins. "She died like two years ago."

Both Cat and I gape at him. "Died?" I question.

"Yeah. She was sick, or somethin'." He shrugs. I feel pale. Kayla's sister is dead. Her sister has been dead for two years, and yet they made her believe she was still alive and that her 'services' were protecting her.

"Oh god." I breathe.

"Now what do we do?" Cat questions. I grit my teeth.

"We tell Kayla and we shut this whole place down. And everyone goes to jail, I guess… although they deserve worse." I glare into the cell.

"Can't believe I was beaten by a couple of lesbians." He scoffs, and my glare intensifies.

"Excuse me. You were beaten by a bisexual and-" I point at Cat, but my mind goes blank. "Uh, Cat, how do you identify?"

She shrugs. "I've never really thought about it. I just love who I love." Cat explains. I blink at her.

"Why didn't I know this?" I question.

"It never really came up."

"Oh." I nod slowly, and turn back to the cell. "You were beaten by a bisexual and a girl who don't need no labels!" I affirm, and then slam the door slot closed. "Bitch."

We first go over to the tow-truck guy's cell. He's practically grovelling at our feet when we release him.

"Oh thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." He rushes out.

"You want to help us destroy this place?" I ask, and he gets up.

"Screw that! I'm running far away from here! Later!" He yells, sprinting down into the mine.

"Coward!" Cat calls after him, and she turns to me. "I guess it's just up to us."

"And Kayla." I agree. "Poor Kayla…"

"I know." Cat frowns. "What… what should we do with the others?"

"I'd hate to leave them all in there for longer, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to release them." I sigh. "When the proper authorities get here… they'll know what to do."

Cat bites her lip, and takes me hand. "Okay, let's finish this."

I put the gun in my back pocket (after putting the safety on), and she gives me a troubled look. "What?" I ask.

"You know I hate guns." She mutters.

"I know. I don't like them much, either. My dad made sure to drill that into my head." I sigh. "But they have guns, too. I'll only use it as a last resort."

"Okay, okay." Cat complies. "If we have to."

"I'm not risking you getting hit next time." I rest my forehead to hers. "Like you said, they'll regret messing with us."

* * *

We tried keeping a low profile as we made our way back to Kayla's, but news must've spread about our escape. The whole town was looking for people with our descriptions, probably with the offer of getting to visit their leverage if they caught us. A fake offer.

Needless to say, we were spotted pretty quickly.

"Whoa, okay. Hi." I address the converging crowd. "Don't forget, we're just like you. We're trapped here."

"Yeah, but if I bring you in, I'll get to visit my daughter!" A woman calls out. I knew it.

I feel my heart get heavy at the image of who was probably this woman's daughter. They don't even know.

"We get that. We do." Cat states, "But if you let us go, then all of this will be over."

"How can you two do anything?" A man shouts.

"We have a plan. We need to find Kayla." I explain.

"The diner girl? I saw the Big Bozos haul her off to the town hall." Another replies. Big Bozos, huh? I like that nickname.

"Great. Then you need to let us through!" Cat urges.

"Can you really help us?" A girl asks. She's about our age.

"Yes." I nod. The citizens look amongst each other, and clear a path.

"We're counting on you." The man from earlier mumbles. "Fuck this so called perfect town."

They all follow us to the town all, picking up others along the way. As we reach the building, it feels like there's an army behind us.

We make our way into the building, feeling determined. We stroll into Lara's office, not even blinking an eye. We're so done with this shit.

"Ah, Cat, Tori. So nice of you to turn yourselves in." Lara smiles, and the Big Bozos start to converge on us. "Wait. Clearly they've come to the realization that my town really is the utopia they've been hoping for."

"Fat chance." I mutter, and I look at Kayla, squatting beside the mayor. She looks a little bruised.

"We might want to fix that attitude." Lara glares. "This is what happens when you go against my wishes. Kayla was so loyal, too. But she thought I wouldn't notice that the surveillance went down in her house when she was housing you for that short time. I thought I'd let that slide, but letting you two escape? That deserved punishment."

Kayla looks up at us, a pleading look in her eyes. "H…Holly?"

I frown, taking a step forward. "Kayla, I'm so sorry. Holly's been dead for a while."

Lara's face pales and her mouth forms into a tight grimace. Meanwhile, Kayla stares at me with horror, and she finds the strength to stand. She turns to Lara.

"Is this… is this _true_?" Kayla gasps. Lara's face stonewalls and she seems to brush it off.

"Oh, that's right. She got sick, the poor dear. Well you can't blame me for that. Such an unfortunate-"

Lara is cut off when Kayla kicks her, hard, right in the shin. She doubles over and the Bozos run towards her, but I feel a weight lifted from my back pocket.

"Stop!" Cat shouts, holding the gun up. I gawk at Cat's actions, but the men just laugh.

"Do you even know how to use that, red bird?" Johnny chuckles.

"Not a clue." Cat mutters. "But doesn't that make me much more dangerous!?"

She starts waving it around, and in a panic, the guys all duck to the ground.

Kayla's crying, but she looks me right in the eye.

"In my apartment. There's a computer. Up on the screen is a prompt for a kill switch." Kayla tosses me an object, and I catch it. A phone. "Put in the code, and everything goes down. Then you can call. The password is-"

This time, Kayla's cut off. Lara hit her right in the head, and Kayla crumpled to the ground.

"I won't let you ruin my Elysium." Lara growls. "Grab them!"

But Cat is still holding up the gun at all of them, and they don't move. We start backing up out the door.

"Your reign of playing God is over." I state, and we both sprint from the room.

"After them!" We hear her yell. Now with Cat not holding the gun to them, they're sure to come after us. Possibly with their own guns. And I can't run very fast right now.

"I thought you hated guns!" I yell to Cat as we make it outside.

"I acted on instinct! I still hate this thing!" Cat holds the gun up.

" _Please_ stop waving it around." I request, and Cat scowls, tossing it into the bushes.

"That was my other instinct." She states. We get down to the crowd of people, who are looking at us expectantly.

"Buy us time!" I shout, and they make a pathway for us. Perfect.

We hear the sounds of fighting and chaos behind us. The whole town must've gathered in front of the town hall, ready to fight for their freedom.

Eventually we make it to Kayla's house, and I once again have to kick a door down.

"You know, that never gets any less attractive." Cat comments, and I tap her on the nose.

"We'll explore those feelings later. There's the computer." I say, going over to it. Cat rests her head on my shoulder.

"The town can't keep those guys busy for long." She mutters.

"I know." I groan. "I wish we had gotten the password."

"Try Holly." Cat suggests, and I type it in.

 _Password Declined_

"Damnit." I curse. "It could be anything. Anything personal. We don't even know Kayla that well."

"Maybe it's not personal." Cat muses. "She's smart, right? Maybe she saw this coming. Maybe it's something we can get."

I stare at her, trying to think. What's something we would know?

"…Lisa wifi." I gasp, and Cat's eyes widen.

"The only password she ever told us. No caps. No spaces." She grins.

I grin back, and type it in.

 _Password Accepted. Lysium network disabled._

"Hell yeah!" Cat cheers, and I pull out the phone.

You have no idea what sweet relief it was to hear someone pick up on the other end.

"Hi, dad? Dad, you need to send the closest authorities to Lysium, Arizona immediately. There's some messed up chiz happening here, and-"

Cat tugs on my sleeve. "Tori, I hear someone coming up the steps." She warns me. I swallow hard.

"And we're in danger!"

* * *

"Thanks, love." Cat coos as I place an iced tea in front of her. I sit next to her, kissing her cheek.

"How are you feeling after that nap?" I grin, and she cuddles into my side.

"So much better. Much needed." She sighs, closing her eyes. We're sitting in the balcony of our apartment we got for us in LA, since we come here so often. I have to say, balconies are amazing.

"I can't believe it's over. It feels like a bad dream." I mumble, putting my arm around her.

"But it really happened. God, I wouldn't believe it if it hadn't happened to us." Cat sighs.

It's been about 24 hours since we were rescued from the shit-hole called Lysium. They found us wandering the desert after we escaped from Kayla's – very dehydrated and tired. We collapsed in bed as soon as we got to LA.

"Thank god your dad is the police chief. He really came through. SWAT teams and everything." Cat sighs. "Everyone's safe. Lara and the goons are locked up, the people are free, and the leverages…" She bites her lip.

"They're going to do their best to rehabilitate them, Cat. It'll take some time, but… hopefully Lysium will just be a bad dream for everyone from now on." I ponder, taking a sip of my own iced tea.

"Yeah, and Kayla will make sure of that." Cat grins. We ran into Kayla after all the chaos. She was grief stricken over her sister, and had a headache from a concussion courtesy of Lara, but she said she plans to use her tech skills for good from now on. She aims to join the CIA to make sure nothing like this ever goes under the government's radar ever again.

"Thank god for that. I think we liberated enough towns to last a lifetime." I sigh.

"Yeah, but it's good publicity. Haven't your album sales skyrocketed since the news came out?" Cat chuckles.

"And you're a hero along with me. You just can't seem to stay out of the news, can you?" I laugh, nuzzling her. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Cat murmurs. I stand up, leaning against the rail of the balcony as I look over the city. Heights still freak me out, don't get me wrong, but I think I'm a little numb to terror right now.

"For the record… we're flying from now on. No matter how much I hate it." I grimace. Cat appears at my side, lacing her arm with mine.

"Are you sure? Because there's just so many more adventures to have…" Cat relishes, and I chuckle.

"That's true." I nod.

"I want to see the world, Tori." She sighs.

"Will you be by my side?"

"Always."

"Then yeah, let's do it. Let's travel the world. Let's make more memories – good or bad." I state.

"Sounds like a life worth living." Cat agrees, leaning into me.

"And so our story continues." I philosophize.

"Mhm. But I'm betting it'll be a happy ending every time." She looks up at me. "As long as I'm with you.

"I'd bet my life on that." I kiss her gently.

We both intertwine our fingers and look out over the horizon. It's the end of another adventure for us. But sometimes an ending is just a new beginning.

So I'm looking forward to every ending we have.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Sappy ending is sappy. Whatever. How could I not end it with Cori being all cute? It was fun to revisit these two - and maybe their story isn't over yet, in a way. Who knows.**

 **I hope you enjoy this tiny story. I liked writing it. Now I have to get back to real life and trying to make a career out of this... Ugh. Adult things. UGH. But yeah, it was awesome seeing you guys still reviewing even after I disappeared for a while. I have the best readers. I love you all very very much. And remember, I'll still be around on Twitter/Tumblr/here.**

 **Fun Fact: You're aaaaaall beautiful.**


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